Zexal III: Battle Against the Chaotic Darkness
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: Their peace has reached its end. A new enemy has revealed itself from the shadows. That means one thing. The Barians must work with both humans and Astral Beings alike if they are to save not only their world, but all three worlds as well. Pairings: HolyIce, SacredJewel. Hinted: AlitXKotori, possibly MisaelXDroite.
1. Chapter 1

**Zexal III: Battle Against The Chaotic Darkness **

**Angst **

**Seven Barian Emperors/Numbers Club/OC/Yuma**

**Their peace has reached its end. A new enemy has revealed itself from the shadows. That means one thing. The Barians must work with both humans and Astral Beings if they are to save not only their world, but all three worlds as well. Pairings: HolyIce, SacredJewel. Hinted: AlitXKotori, possibly MisaelXDroite.**

**(Don't own Zexal. Don't own the bad guys. BUT- [races over to the story] I DO own this story.)**

* * *

**D.T.B: Hey, guys. Well, here it is. The sequel to Shark's Revival! To be honest, I wanted this to be a surprise, but SOPA made me tip my stinking hand. (Blast you, SOPA!) So, if I still surprised you with this story, SWEET. If not, ah well. Least you'll still enjoy it. (I hope.)**

**Sirius: Little note though. Shark's Revival, chapter 40. You ALL got it wrong! I was the guy in bold talking! **

**Antares: [laughing in the background] **

**Lyra: Barian-san wanted to hint a sequel. So she had him say, "Is this peace? Or nothing more than a brief respite?"**

**D.T.B: Yeah. Guess I didn't make it obvious enough. [pause] I'M IMPROVING! **

**Sirius: HOW!?**

**Antares: Story. Starting now. Let's begin!**

* * *

Chapter 1

The Brief Respite

* * *

Laughter.

Darkness.

A wickedness seeping through the cracks of Barian World.

"What do you know?" a voice said. "Don Thousand's been sealed up all over again."

"He should have known that his plan to get the Numeron Code was going to fail," another voice said, this one being female.

"Yeah," a third one said in agreement.

Another male.

"Not that it matters," said a third male. "Just makes things easier for us. Right, great leader?"

The first male stood up. "Yes," he said. "Now the Barians are mere humans. Insects compared to us. We can better achieve our aims." His eyes flashed a dark violet. "Time to get to work, my friends."

* * *

6:59.

The clock read that number so clearly. The green digits danced on the clock for a moment or two before changing to the bright '7:00.' Without any hint of hesitation, the silver steed-shaped alarm clock let out a resounding 'neigh,' something that woke up the person sleeping beside it with little trouble.

A pale hand stroked the steed's mane, turning the alarm off with a single motion. Then a grey-haired youth pulled his head out from underneath his pillow, hesitating only for a moment to allow himself to wake up completely. Once he was sure that the room wasn't actually spinning, he picked up his glasses from the nightstand and started for the bathroom.

Then he proceeded to wash his face and brush his hair. Afterwards, he got into his school uniform; the white shirt with the green tie and blue pants. Not his preferred color, but his reasons for wearing it left him little room to complain.

He took an extra thirty seconds adjusting his tie before he made his way to the kitchen to ready the alarm clock for his friends.

Better known as 'food.'

And let me tell you, nothing works to wake his roommates up better than fried eggs and bacon.

Less than five minutes after the bacon started sizzling, the boys were out and at the table. "Hungry," one of them breathed. "Need food before I fade away."

"I wouldn't worry, Alit," the grey-haired boy said. "You ate enough of dinner yesterday to go for a month without a meal."

"Aw!" Alit whined. "Don't say that, Durbe!"

"It's true, though," Durbe admitted. "Simply ask Gilag."

Alit looked to the mohawk-wearing student beside him. Like Alit, Gilag was also mentally screaming for food.

"Alright, alright," Durbe said soothingly. "Eat up."

He placed two plates of breakfast before the two, allowing himself only a moment to jump away before they got egg all over his shirt, something they did on a near daily basis. "Hurry up and eat," he said. "We've got school today, don't forget."

"Right, right," Alit said through eggs and bacon. "Don't worry. We won't be late."

"You certainly better not be," Durbe said as he grabbed his bag. "Mr. Kay is beginning to ask questions that I'd sooner not answer."

"Don't worry," Gilag responded. "We won't get into trouble today."

Durbe opened the door to their apartment. "I should hope so," he said. "See you later."

Then he started outside, closing the door behind him as he did so.

"Tell Rio I said hello!" Alit called out, waving his fork in the air.

Thankfully, Durbe didn't hear that last outburst.

* * *

The clattering of shoes against the cement-covered ground could be easily heard as it neared the school.

A golden key-shaped pendent flashed in the sunlight as its owner jumped into the air, a smile on his face, a single phrase on his lips.

"Kattobingu da, ORE!"

"You're not winning today, Yuma," Testuo said, blasting past him with his skateboard.

"Oh, yes, I will, Testuo!" Yuma retorted, increasing his speed to dart forward. "You're gonna eat my dust today!"

His golden key then glowed brightly, allowing his blue ally to reveal himself. "I do not believe he shall enjoy 'eating your dust,' Yuma," he said. "I doubt it has any taste in the first place."

Yuma looked over to his friend. "Astral," he snapped. "You know what I mean!"

"Ha!" Testuo exclaimed. "See you later, Yuma."

"Huh? Hey!"

Tetsuo simply guffawed as he increased speed and got in front of Yuma again, the latter futilely attempting to catch up, despite the obvious difference in speed. "See you later, Yuma!" Testuo laughed, waving his hand in the air as he looked to his opponent.

Yuma merely growled in irritation.

"You might want to focus on the road, Tetsuo-san," someone said, suddenly appearing beside him on his own skateboard. A helmet concealed his identity, as well as goggles that kept the wind out of his eyes. "Unless you want to trip up at the school gates."

"Huh?" went Tetsuo, turning back to face the road.

True enough, they were a little too close to the school.

"Oh, man!"

He attempted to stop himself, only to fall to the ground. Fortunately, he didn't hurt himself, as he'd slowed down significantly before his skateboard pulled itself out from under his feet.

"Oh man," Yuma breathed. "You okay, Tetsuo?"

"I'm fine," Tetsuo said, pulling himself back up and patting his shoulders. "Thanks for the warning, kid."

"No sweat," the skateboarder said. "But I'd appreciate it," he pulled his helmet off of his head; "if you didn't call me 'kid.'"

Yuma's mouth hung agape for a moment. The boy before them had white hair and grey eyes. A smile was playing on his face as he continued to stare at the two of them. "I do have a name, you know," he said.

Tetsuo then pointed to the skateboarder. "Cereal?" he asked.

An anger mark appeared on the boy's head. "I'm only gonna say it," he said, "one...more...time. My name is **Sirius**! Si-Ri-Us! Capiche?!"

Both Tetsuo and Yuma caught themselves stepping away. "R-Right," they said. "We got it."

Sirius sighed. "Honestly, Tetsuo-san," he breathed. "You're worse than my knight teachers used to be. And they did it on purpose."

"You don't have any proof of that, Sirius," another voice said. "You're merely venting."

All eyes turned. Durbe was making his way over to his brother, his back slung over his shoulder.

"Durbe-nii," Sirius said happily. "Hey, good to see you."

"The feeling is mutual, Sirius," Durbe responded. Then he looked down to the long piece of white wood in Sirius' hand. "What is that?"

"Hmm?" went Sirius. He looked down at the skateboard. "Oh, this? It's a skateboard. Cool, huh?"

Durbe offered no answer to that one. He wasn't going to deny it. Some human inventions meant to propel one forward in a flashy manner still confused him.

"Huh," went Tetsuo. "I didn't know you could actually ride a skateboard, Sirius."

"Wow," Sirius said nonchalantly. "You actually got my name right."

"Sirius," Durbe sighed.

"What?" Sirius whined.

Durbe simply shook his head.

"Why did you think he couldn't ride a skateboard, Tetsuo?" Yuma asked. "It's not that hard."

"Well, because, uh," Tetsuo began.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Because you believed Barians are naïve in human customs and thus, can't possibly learn things as advanced as skateboarding?" he asked. "Is that how we seemed to you?"

Instantly, Tokunosuke popped up beside him. "That's right, ura," he said with a grin.

"Gee, thank you," Sirius growled.

"Is it important to note that a former Barian Emperor is standing right beside you?" Durbe asked. While he was trying to maintain his self-control, it was obvious to Sirius that his brother was slightly irked by the implication that Barians were stupid.

"Maybe, seeing as how we're Barians too."

Everybody turned again. That time, Ryoga and Rio started making their way over, a scowl on one, a smile on the other. Naturally, it was Rio that piped up about being Barians, as Ryoga was still the master of indifference and silence. "Hello," she said. "Lovely morning today, huh?"

"Ah," Durbe breathed. "Good morning, Rio, Ryoga."

Rio smiled, though Ryoga was not too happy to see it. Naturally, he was still unaccepting about the whole relationship between his sister and Durbe. Both were well aware – have to be Yuma to be anything but – but behaved kindly, if not affectionately, around each other just the same.

Sirius grinned. "Lucky knight," he teased his brother.

"Exactly why are you here again?" Durbe asked, changing the subject as quickly as it came.

"Oh yeah," Yuma said. "Whatcha doing? Ooh, you going undercover as a student here?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. Then he looked down at his outfit.

First year school uniform.

* * *

(Later, at lunch.)

"So, uh, why are you here again?" Yuma asked for approximately the five thousandth time that day.

Sirius was too close to screaming at the young boy. Finally, he sighed. "I came to check up on all of you guys," he said. "It's been nearly three months since the Don Thousand incident, after all."

"Uh huh," went Yuma. "And the uniform?"

At the mere mention of the dreaded piece of cloth, Sirius broke his chop sticks. "Don't...mention...the uniform," he snarled. "I hate it."

"Okay," Yuma said uncomfortably. "But if you hate it, why are you wearing it?"

"Because I have no other choice," Sirius sighed. "It's a lot easier to keep tabs on people when others think you're a student. That, and I used this in an assignment once before and it was in the back of my closet."

"I see," Durbe said, chewing on a piece of sausage from his lunch.

Alit then threw his chopsticks forward. "So you're just like me," he said. "You just throw on what's in the back of the closet and dart out for school."

In retaliation, Sirius threw his broken chopsticks at Alit, hitting him right between the eyes. "Don't call me a slob, thank you," he said.

"Got it," Alit choked out, pulling the chopsticks away from his face.

A sigh escaped Sirius as he closed up his lunchbox and stood up. "Okay," he said, slightly exasperated. "I think it's about time I head out. You guys seemed to be doing okay."

"Where are you going?" Durbe asked.

"Hmm?" went Sirius. "Oh, I've got monitor duty at Mach's Ruins this week. All the Barian Guardians are taking turns monitoring them."

"Ah, cool!" Yuma exclaimed. "Why are you doing that?"

Sirius' expression became somber. "Like I said, it's been three months since Don Thousand was sealed away again," he said, placing his hands on his hips. "The Barian Guardians are uneasy about leaving the keys to his prison alone again, so we're making sure that they stay right where they are."

"If that is the case," Astral said, "why did you choose to spend the first half of the school day with us when you should have been heading to Mach's Ruins?"

Sirius gave an innocent face. "Mach likes to know how his master's doing, duh."

Durbe looked away, remembering the great steed that he used to ride.

"I see," Astral said. "So you try to keep him informed of any situations that involve Durbe and his friends."

Sirius smiled. "Yup," he said. Then he placed his fingers against his chin as he lost himself in thought. "That reminds me, Misael's got Epsilon this week."

"Who?" Durbe asked curiously.

Sirius chuckled as the overlay network appeared behind him. "You might want to warn Misael," he said. "She's a nasty handful. Bye, guys."

With that, he vanished into the overlay network, allowing him to head on over to the Ruins of Number 44.

Little did anybody know, however...that what was in those ruins...was but the spark to yet another war.

* * *

**D.T.B: Yay! Yay! Yay...should I be celebrating? That felt kinda fast.**

**Sirius: Was that a chapter or a oneshot?**

**D.T.B: Chapter! ….I think. **

**Antares: We'll be starting up the previews next chapter. Mokona needs time to prepare himself for it. But in the meantime, Barian-san wants you to know that the rest of the characters shall be better introduced later. And we've got a surprise for you all. There's going to be more OCs in this story! Including Barian Guardians! And never before seen places in Barian World, the Emperor's Key, and more!**

**Mokona: Hope you review and wish us luck! WAAAPUUU!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Darkness Rises

* * *

After Sirius vanished from the rooftop, Durbe couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry eat at his chest. While Sirius was smiling when he left, and he had no reason to worry, he couldn't help it.

Something, somehow, felt off.

Wrong.

Like something was about to happen.

"Durbe?" Rio asked curiously, knocking the young man out of his stupor. "Is something wrong?"

Durbe looked over to Rio, a curious expression on his face. "Hmm?"

"You seemed kinda out of it for a second there," Rio said. "Is something wrong?"

Durbe paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he answered. "It's nothing." He cast a sidelong glance to where Sirius was just standing. "It's probably my imagination."

Yuma looked at the two of them for a moment. So did Ryoga, though he had a scowl on his face for obvious reasons.

Then Astral looked to the sky. Like Durbe, he felt something was wrong.

A foreboding feeling in the air.

Xxxxxxxxxx

* * *

The overlay network opened up in the darkened halls of the Ruins of Number 44. Slowly, Sirius stepped out, his school bag slung over his shoulder, a grin on his face. "Well, guess it's that time of week," he said to himself.

He gave his bag a quick tug as he walked down the halls, his ears ringing with the laughter of children. It was only natural. After all, the Ruins had once been a place of play for Sirius and Durbe when they were younger.

Before Sirius developed asthma.

His head turned when he heard more laughter coming from behind him.

The images of little children were jumping everywhere, smiles on their faces as they giggled.

* * *

"_Got you, Sirius," Durbe chuckled._

_ "Get over here, Durbe!" Sirius laughed, jumping on top of his brother's back, tackling him to the ground._

_ Durbe laughed even more, as did Sirius._

* * *

Sirius smiled as the images faded away, like clouds of smoke. "Yeah, those were the days," he said. "For four year olds."

He continued to walk down the hall, the smile on his face growing as he entered the large room where Mach's statue was located. "Hey, Mach," he called out. "I'm here."

When he received no answer, he felt his blood go cold. Mach always answered when he was called. He was like a dog in that sense.

"Mach? Come on. It's not funny. Where are you?"

Again, no response.

But he did feel a strange power. Instantly, Sirius tensed and reached for his deck. "Who's there?" he asked. "Show yourself this instant!"

A dark laugh echoed throughout the room.

"Who's there!?" Sirius asked again, a scowl forming on his face.

The laughter increased, then suddenly silenced. Sirius, naturally, didn't like where it was going. Then he saw a young man step out of the darkness, from behind the great Pegasus statue.

A Barian, to be more precise.

A Barian with violet skin, long brown hair, violet eyes, and a small crystal embedded on his forehead. On his face was two orange demon-like markings and on his shoulders were two purple pauldrons, on his arms were golden guards with purple crystals. On his back was a purple cape and a demon emblem was on his stomach. To complete his look, he had a crystal on his chest and golden boots.

"Who're you?" Sirius growled, his canines showing.

"Who am I?" the Barian responded. "Xetarlos."

"Xetarlos, eh?" Sirius asked. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here? You are no Barian Guardian."

"I should hope not," Xetarlos responded. "I'm not one to listen to miserable Barians telling me what to do."

"What?!" Sirius growled. He looked around, then turned back to Xetarlos. "Where is Mach!?"

"You mean this pathetic creature that tried to stop me?" Xetarlos asked, moving to the side and allowing Sirius to see the weakened form of Mach.

His grey eyes widened when he saw the damage done to his friend.

"Mach!"

"He tried to stop me from taking this," Xetarlos explained, holding up Number 44: Sky Pegasus. "He learned the hard way that nothing can stop me from achieving my goals."

"Want to bet?" Sirius growled under his breath.

Xetarlos chuckled and turned around. "Where do you think you're going!?" Sirius asked angrily.

"Back to my headquarters," Xetarlos said simply.

"Not with Sky Pegasus, you're not!" Sirius shouted.

"Oh, really?" Xetarlos asked. "I'd like to see you stop me."

"You asked." Sirius pulled out one of his cards, then threw it above the statue's nose. "Field Maho! **Sacred Thunder!**"

Instantly, a translucent barrier appeared, surrounding the room with a thunderous clap.

Xetarlos paused.

"As long as I'm standing," Sirius said, "you won't be able to leave this room."

Xetarlos then turned to Sirius and chuckled. "So, let me get this straight," he said. "You are challenging me to a duel?"

Sirius grinned. "That's right."

"In that case," Xetarlos said, jumping down to the bottom of the steps, "let us begin."

He then held his left arm out and formed his duel disk. A demonic wing with purple and gold coloring; a demon mouth being the Deck Zone.

Sirius then held out his left arm, his Baria Lapis glowing brightly. "I can't afford to hold back against this guy," he thought. "Mach's at stake here."

Then he cried out in a loud voice, "Bariarphose!"

His body then glowed with a white light. Then the light shattered, revealing his Barian form, his duel disk on his right arm.

Then both Barians drew their cards.

"**Let's Duel!**"

* * *

Yuma raced towards the gym. "Alright!" he exclaimed happily. "Kattobingu da, ORE!"

Kotori sighed with a smile. "There he goes again," she chuckled.

Durbe and Rio nodded. "I'll agree there," Durbe said. "He's always got energy to burn, unless it involves schoolwork."

His heart then skipped a beat suddenly, and he turned to the windows, looking towards the skies. "Sirius?" he asked under his breath.

* * *

"I'll go first, Xetarlos!" Sirius said, placing his fingers on his deck. "Boku no turn! Draw!" He drew his card and looked at the image painted in the center.

Then a twinkle appeared in his eyes.

"Magic card, Sacred Calling, hatsudo!" Sirius declared, throwing his card onto his duel disk. "This card allows me to summon two Sacred Wing monsters from my hand, so long as they're both level four! So come on out, Sacred Wing – Beast! And Sacred Wing – Unicorn!"

Both monsters appeared on the field, fierce cries escaping their lungs.

[Sacred Wing – Beast. Lv. 4. 0 ATK, 2000 DEF]

[Sacred Wing – Unicorn. Lv 4. 1500 ATK, 1200 DEF]

Sirius threw his hand into the air. "Now I sacrifice both my Sacred Wing – Beast and Sacred Wing – Unicorn."

Both monsters then shattered into thousands of little lights, then combined until they became a long, golden sword which Sirius proceeded to grab hold of. Then he spun it around in his hand as he chanted. "Grand Beast of the Land of Light, release yourself from your chains and become my servant." He then plunged his sword into the ground. Cracks followed and the ground exploded, allowing a wolf to appear on the field. "Arewarero, Sacred Wing – Guardian Wolf!"

[Guardian Wolf. Lv. 10. 2800 ATK, 3000 DEF]

Guardian Wolf let out a fierce roar, her eyes locked onto her opponent.

"Quite a beast," Xetarlos said. "But a monster is only as strong as its master. So this won't take long."

"Don't be so sure of that, Xetarlos," Sirius said.

Then he looked down to the spell card that rested in his hand. Sacred Banishment. "This'll definitely help if he summons an Xyz monster," he thought. Then he threw the card onto his disk, shouting a verbal, "Kaado ichi mai sette! Turn end!"

"Very well," Xetarlos said. "It's my turn. I draw!"

He then looked at his hand, then at the field.

"First, I summon _Malicious Lord – Sharion!_"

The monster appeared on the field. A warrior with pointed ears and an expression befitting stuck-up nobles. He was dressed in dark, noble clothing, suiting his 'Lord' title.

[Sharion. Lv. 4. 1200 ATK, 1200 DEF]

"Now, I activate Sharion's ability," Xetarlos said cooly. "When you have a monster on the field and I control Sharion, I can summon two more Sharions to the field."

Both monsters appeared on the field.

"Now I activate Sharion's **other** ability!" Xetarlos declared. "When I control three copies of Malicious Lord – Sharion, I change their levels to level 12."

[Sharion (All versions). Lv. 4 → 12]

"Three level 12s," Sirius connected.

Xetarlos then raised his hand into the air. "Now I overlay my level twelve Sharions! Xyz Shoukan!"

Sirius protected his face as the wind blew out of the overlay network.

"What...could he be summoning?" Sirius asked.

If Xetarlos wasn't in his Barian form, he would have grinned. "Arewarero!"

The monster then appeared out of the overlay network.

Sirius' eyes widened frightfully as the Xyz monster appeared on the field. "Wh-What?! What on Barian World is that!?"

* * *

Durbe bounced the basketball during gym, his eyes staring into space. "I know I shouldn't be worried," he thought. "So why am I? Sirius was happy when he left, so what's eating away at my conscience? Why am I...worried so badly?"

"Oi, Durbe-kun," a voice said.

Durbe looked up, his eyes now focused on the student in front of him.

The student who challenged him to a quick game of basketball during gym.

Yata-Garasu

"Come on, Durbe-kun," he said. "Show me what you can do."

"Go get 'em, Durbe!" Rio exclaimed.

"Kattobingu da, Durbe!" Yuma shouted. (Yeah. The Numbers Club is watching.)

Durbe shook his head, forcing his worry to leave him be. "Very well," he said. "Then I shall show you what I can do."

With that, he raced forward, the basketball hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Yata-Garasu reached towards him, hoping to steal the ball from Durbe, but the former Barian simply ducked under his grasp, a grin on his face. "What the-?" Yata-Garasu exclaimed.

"You mustn't underestimate the ability of a knight," Durbe thought.

His eyes narrowed as he jumped towards the hoop, his hands readying to throw the ball inside.

He was about two seconds away from scoring a point...

When he saw flashes of a terrible sighed.

_Sirius on the ground, his body trembling with pain. His chest was covered in terrible bruises and his hair was dirtied. Guardian Wolf was on the ground alongside him, her body too heavy to lift from the ground._

_ He looked up to his shadowed opponent, his grey eyes wide with terror._

_ "Mach!"_

**"Sirius!"**

"Durbe?! Durbe!"

Durbe's eyes shot open in an instant. He was on the ground of the gym, Rio, Ryoga, and Yata-Garasu looking down at him worriedly. "Are you okay?" Yata-Garasu asked.

"You fainted," Rio explained, her hand propping up his head. "Did something happen?"

"I...fainted?" Durbe asked, pressing the heel of his hand against his head.

The memory of what he'd just seen suddenly came rushing back to him. In less than a second, he jolted upwards, his eyes wide with terror. "Sirius!" he exclaimed softly.

"What's wrong?" Rio asked worriedly.

"Who's Sirius?" Yata-Garasu asked curiously.

"His brother," Ryoga answered. "You should probably go."

Yata-Garasu only conceded to that because Ryoga cast him a rather nasty glare.

And as he left, Yuma came up to them. "Is he okay?" he asked. "That was a pretty nasty fall."

Durbe looked over to Yuma. "Yuma," he said. "I need to ask you a favor. It's important."

Yuma raised an eyebrow.

* * *

(On the Airship.)

Durbe walked over to Yuma, who was manning the helm as usual. "Thank you, Yuma," he said. "I appreciate this."

"No sweat," Yuma said with a grin.

Astral then looked over to Durbe. "So you saw Sirius being attacked?" he asked.

Durbe clenched his fist. "Yes," he said.

Rio then touched his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said, a smile appearing on her face. "He's your brother, after all."

Durbe smiled. "Thank you, Rio."

Suddenly, a throbbing sensation attacked his being. It wasn't painful. Actually, it was numb. But still, it was cause for worry, as he grasped at his shirt, his hand trembling. "What was...?" he asked himself.

"Alright!" Yuma exclaimed. "Here we are!"

A sudden stop proved Yuma's point rather quickly, even more so when they were thrown forward, hitting their faces against the floor of the ship.

Ryoga's reaction was instant. "That does it. That's the very last time we're letting you drive this thing!"

Yuma simply rubbed his head and chuckled awkwardly.

* * *

They all started racing through the hallways of the ruins. "Sirius!" Yuma called out. "You in here!? Hello!"

"Sirius-kun!" Rio yelled, her hand against her cheek.

"If you're in here, you'd better stop hiding," Ryoga growled. "This isn't funny."

"Sirius wouldn't simply hide," Durbe said, looking this way and that. "Not on duty."

He then started racing down the halls, his worry for his brother refusing to go away. "Sirius," he thought frightfully. "Where are you?"

"D-Durbe-nii..."

The whisper was so faint, Durbe almost didn't notice.

But notice he did. And he picked up speed and raced into the Pegasus chamber.

Then he froze.

Sirius was on the ground, his body broken and battered.

"S-Sirius," Durbe breathed, his voice breaking.

The young Barian Guardian did nothing more than twitch before his eyes cracked open.

The pain swimming in his grey orbs, as well as the shattering of his Barian form, was enough to make Durbe move to his side. "Sirius!" he shouted, his face pale with fright.

A moment later, he cradled Sirius in his arms. "Sirius," he choked out. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Sirius opened his eyes a little more and looked up at his brother. "D-Durbe-nii."

"Sirius," Durbe breathed worriedly.

"Durbe!" Ryoga called out from the halls. "Did you find him?"

"We can't find him in the halls," Yuma reported.

"Durbe," Rio said.

The three of them made it into the Pegasus chamber, then froze. Then Rio clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, dear," she breathed.

"What happened to him?" Ryoga asked, making his way to his friend's side. "He looks like he was sent through the wringer."

"I don't know," Durbe answered. "Sirius, what happened? Can you tell us?"

Sirius didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, his voice was weak at best. "Durbe, I'm so sorry," he said. "I tried...to save him... But I just couldn't."

"Who did you try to save?" Durbe asked.

To answer, Sirius forced his head to turn to the Pegasus statue.

Those around him followed suit.

The Number was gone.

"I'm so sorry," Sirius choked. "I...couldn't stop him."

"Couldn't stop who?" Durbe asked. "Who took Mach?"

Sirius looked back up to his brother. His pale and exhausted face sold the fact that he was barely able to remain conscious. "Durbe," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "y-you have to be careful." He slowly lifted his weakening hand, something that Durbe took hold of as quickly as he could. "N-Number."

"Huh?" went Yuma.

"Number?" Astral asked curiously.

"What Number?" Ryoga asked.

Sirius' eyes began to flutter. "N-Number...two...two hu-," a groan escaped him, stopping his speech.

"Sirius!" Durbe exclaimed.

Sirius looked through the white bangs that fell over his face. "Be...careful...Durbe-nii."

Then his eyes closed and his hand went limp in his brother's own.

* * *

Puuu! Well, here I am! Mokona Modoki, ready to handle the previews. And it already looks like Siri-chan got himself in trouble. And before five chapters.

Sirius: Tell me. Do you taste good in stew!?

EEEK! Don't threaten me like that, Siri-chan!

Sirius: Then finish the preview!

Okay, okay. [ahem] Oh, no! Siri-chan is hurt! What was he trying to tell he trying his brother? Who was that strange Barian that attacked him and took Machy? What's going to happen in the next chapter? You'll have to find out when Zexal III returns in Chapter 3: A New Enemy.

Till next time, everybody!

* * *

**D.T.B: And the first duel of the new arc goes to Sirius! And the first loss.**

**Sirius: That's not funny!**

**D.T.B: Humor. Need a very large dose of it.**

**Sirius: Whatev.**

**Durbe: In the event that you didn't recognize the enemy, Xetarlos, he is the OC of BarianHunterAlpha. **

**D.T.B: Yep. The bad guys are HIS bad guys. Well, not ALL of them. (I'll own one. I'm not telling you which one though.) To be honest, he was the reason I started thinking about doing a sequel for Shark's Revival before you guys asked for one, so you should really blame him.**

**Lyra: Don't you mean 'thank him?'**

**Sirius: Why should she? It's the same thing.**

**D.T.B: Well, anyway. Next chapter, we see a section of the Emperor's Key we've never seen before. Until next time. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**D.T.B: I am back from my break~. :D**

**Sirius: Sadly. **

**Vector: Oh, lighten up, Siri-chan.**

**Sirius: Remind me why I didn't kill you.**

**Vector: Because we used to be friends.**

**D.T.B: Ignoring them, I don't own Zexal. I just own my OCs. Credit for the bad guys, however, goes entirely to BarianHunterAlpha. :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

A New Enemy

* * *

Durbe's grey eyes were threatening to shed tears as he looked down at the battered form of his brother, limp in his arms. It looked to him as if Sirius was in a pained sleep. "S-Sirius," he choked out.

No response. No change. Sirius was still clammy, icy cold, and deathly pale.

"Durbe," Rio said softly. "Is he...?"

Durbe shook his head. "He's alive," he said. "But he's hurt." His eyes narrowed. "Badly. We need to get him somewhere to recover."

He then snaked his arm underneath Sirius' knees, his other arm under the boy's shoulders, and lifted him up bridal-style. While he did it slowly, the Barian Guardian still let out a nasty hiss, something Durbe did not fail to notice. "Sirius," he breathed.

The only response he got was heavy breathing and a twisted expression.

Durbe then turned to those behind him. "Do we have a place where he could lie down?" he asked.

"Not nearby," Ryoga said. "Come on. We're in the middle of a jungle."

"Actually," Astral cut in, "we do have a place where he could lie down."

Durbe's hand twitched. "Where?" he asked.

"Back in the ship," Astral said.

"I don't remember seeing a bed in the ship," Yuma said.

"That is because you were not looking."

"Then please," Durbe said, "show it to us." Then he looked down to his brother, mentally adding, "Sirius is getting worse."

Ryoga and Rio looked over to Astral, a look of worry painting the younger Kamishiro's face.

* * *

(In another part of the Different Dimension Airship)

Astral floated into a section of the ship, his allies following close behind.

Durbe's eyes then narrowed curiously at the sight.

The section they were standing in was wider than even the bridge, bearing a strange resemblance to the nurse's office in Yuma's school. A bed was resting against the far wall, golden and slightly mechanical in shape. (Amazingly, there was even a blanket.)

"What is this place?" Durbe asked.

"I believe it is a medical chamber," Astral reported. "I found it about a month ago."

"Whoa!" Yuma breathed.

"I'll admit," Ryoga said, "this is actually impressive."

Astral nodded. "Durbe," he said, "place Sirius on the bed."

Durbe hesitated for a moment, but then did just that. Sirius let out a groan as he was laid down, something that nearly made Durbe turn away.

Then he backed away, mere moments before a golden field surrounded the bed.

All eyes widened.

It looked as if a gentle breeze was blowing through the bed, with Sirius' bangs flying over his face, as well as the slight raise of his grey sleeves. "Sirius," Durbe breathed.

"Is he floating?" Yuma asked.

"Yes," Astral said. "That is a Sphere Field. It should help his healing."

"Whoa," Yuma breathed. "Can I get a turn?"

"You are not injured, Yuma," Astral sighed. "Besides, Sirius is likely to remain here until we find a better place for him to rest."

"Aw, man."

Durbe then placed his hand on the Sphere Field, all the while biting his lip in worry. "Sirius," he thought.

Rio paused for a moment, then walked forward and touched Durbe's shoulder with her tiny hand. "Don't worry," she said with a tender smile. "After all, he's your baby brother, right?"

Oh, she should have been incredibly grateful that Sirius was not awake to hear the phrase, "Baby Brother."

* * *

(Meanwhile, in the Dueling Sanctuary.)

A hum could be heard all throughout the Dueling Sanctuary. In the great room, a familiar bulky man was standing in front of the smaller statues.

The statues of the Over-Hundred Numbers.

And, as one would guess, he was polishing them. As perfectly as he could.

"Kiraku-sama," Ponta said, floating down to his side, "are you ready for dueling practice?"

Gilag looked up to see his ethereal ally. "You better believe I'm ready," he said. "It's the one time we work together."

Ponta smiled. "I'm glad, Kiraku-sama," he said.

Gilag simply gave his usual big grin.

"I must say, this is a rather interesting place," a voice said suddenly.

Both master and Guardian jerked their heads to the entrance.

Leaning against one of the pillars was a tall, pale man with long, silver hair and golden eyes. His attire consisted of a gold-colored shirt with no sleeves, silver cape with a golden fringe, silver pants, silver gloves, and a wristband that appeared to be a dragonhead.

Physically, he looked to be 19 years of age, as proven by the mix of maturity and mischief that glittered in his eyes.

"What was that?" Gilag asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

A grin appeared on the man's face. "Dusty," he said, pushing himself away from the pillar, "more like a museum than a home, but interesting. Especially with all these monster statues around here." He gave the room a quick scan, quickly setting his eyes on the statues behind Gilag. "You make those all by yourself?"

"Who are you?" Gilag asked, ignoring the question altogether.

"Kiraku-sama," Ponta said, falling to his master's side, "please be careful. Something about this man feels strange."

"Huh?" went Gilag.

"Smart tanuki," the man said. "You should listen to him. After all, Gilag, in your current condition as a duelist, you won't be able to do much against me."

Gilag gritted his teeth. "Who are you?" he asked again.

"Who am I?" the man asked in repetition. He then dug his hand into his deck and pulled out a card. "I am...Xadros."

The card in his hand then began to glow with a darkened light.

Then a fierce monster appeared behind him. A dragon with hardened scales and eyes like the galaxy.

And a roar that shook the Sanctuary at its very supports.

* * *

(Aaaaaaand back to the ship.)

Durbe remained by Sirius' side as they returned to Heartland. Yuma had suggested that they take Sirius to Heartland Tower, as Kaito had once mentioned that the medical facilities there rivaled hospitals. (Though he didn't explain exactly **why** when the question was brought up.) Taking him there would surely benefit Sirius, as Kaito already knew that Sirius was a Barian.

If only Durbe's heavy conscience could be eased by such knowledge.

Suddenly, Sirius' breath was caught in his throat, forcing him to cough. Durbe, who was leaning against the wall, jerked his head to his brother, his eyes filled with worry. "Sirius," he breathed, making his way over to the Sphere Field. "Sirius, what's the matter!?"

Sirius' eyes slowly opened up. His eyes were glassy and his breath was worsening by the second.

"Sirius," Durbe said, forcing his hand through the Sphere Field to take hold of Sirius' clammy one. "Sirius, what's wrong?"

The Barian Guardian only gave a single word before he calmed down.

"Numbers."

Then he fell back into unconsciousness, his hand going limp.

Durbe bit his lip to smother his frustration and worry. "Sirius," he breathed, lowering his head slightly. "What is... Exactly what is going on around here?"

* * *

Puuuu! What a short chapter! Oh, well. Next chapter, we're seeing the Barian Guardians again. So what's Lyra gonna do? Or even Antares? [pause] Oh, that's right! Gilag! Please be okay!

What's gonna happen next? You'll have to wait and see for Zexal III: Injuries and Numbers!

Siri-chan, please be okay. You too, Ponta!

* * *

**D.T.B: Okay, sorry for the shortness of the chapter. Maybe I could have done a bit better, but my ideas for this chapter reached a rather abrupt halt. **

**Antares: Translation: She didn't know what else to put down.**

**D.T.B: I know. :( And to make matters absolutely worse, I keep forgetting the name of the bad guys team! I think it was "The Eight Warriors of the Chaotic Darkness, but I can't say for certain. Am I warm, BarianHunterAlpha?**

**Lyra: Please review, kya~!**

**Sirius: "Kya?"**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Injuries and Numbers

* * *

Durbe looked on for a moment or two. Sirius was on his side, his breath growing raspy and uneven. It was like he was suffering from the aftereffects of a terrible fever. Placing his hand on Sirius' head, Durbe found that he had the symptoms to prove it too. "Sirius," he breathed. "Don't worry. We're going to get you help."

As if on cue, Sirius' breathing began to steady. The cooling sensation of Durbe's icy hand against his cheek might have had something to do with it.

Sighing, Durbe covered Sirius' shoulders with the blanket, got up, and left.

Seeing someone ailing, injured, or otherwise for too long never once sat well with him.

* * *

All eyes turned to the doorway as Durbe appeared on the bridge. "Ah, Durbe," Astral said. "How is Sirius feeling?"

Durbe didn't answer for a brief moment. "He appears to be improving," he said. "Thank you, Astral."

A silence enveloped them all.

Then Yuma turned away. "Well, that's good to hear," he said. "I was worried that he was really hurt or something."

Durbe chuckled softly.

"So, Astral," Ryoga said, "when are we gonna arrive at Kaito's place?"

"We shall be arriving soon," Astral said. "Have no fear."

"Good," Rio said. "Now Ryoga, you can stop worrying about Sirius-kun."

"Get real," Ryoga said. "I wasn't worried about him in the least."

"Ryoga," Durbe thought with a chuckle. "I see you still have that habit of hiding the obvious. But still, thank you for that."

Suddenly, the entire ship jerked to the side, knocking everybody off their feet. "What the huh!?" Yuma exclaimed. "What's going on!?"

"I dunno!" Ryoga snapped. "But whatever it was, it's not good."

"Something has happened below us," Astral reported.

"What's below us?" Rio asked.

Astral looked to the map that appeared in the center of the bridge.

Then he reported.

"The Dueling Sanctuary."

* * *

A dark chuckle escaped Xadros as he walked through the debris from fallen statues. Then he bent down and picked up the Legendary Number card, Sandayu. "So this is Number 64," he said. "How fascinating. Who would have expected such a weak monster could keep someone like Don Thousand locked up?"

He then revealed a big – if not maniacal – grin as he turned and walked away, his cape flaring as he did so. Then he stepped over Gilag's fallen form.

Like a general over his fallen foes.

"Don't get up," Xadros said as he stepped over Kaze and Roku. "I'll just let myself out."

Then he started chuckling as he stepped outside and down the steps. "Xetarlos is gonna be real happy to see what I've got for him," he said. "We're making some pretty good progress." He then looked at Sandayu again. "Heh. These Barian Emperors. They're such a joke."

Suddenly, the wind picked up, ruining his relatively good mood. Then the clouds gathered, then parted, revealing the Airship. It was exiting the overlay network, its teleportation system ready to activate. "Well, what do you know," Xadros said. "Company."

The bright green light then descended from the airship, and Yuma, Astral, and friends appeared on the ground. "Alright!" Yuma exclaimed. "What are you doing here!? You know you can't leave here without passing Roku's test of 10,000 steps."

Almost everybody sweat dropped.

"Way to ruin the mood, Yuma," Ryoga mentally sighed.

Xadros simply stared at the five of them, slightly confused. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"Who? Me?" Yuma asked, pointing to himself.

"You're the stupid-looking one," Xadros said, "So, yes. That would be you."

"Stupid-looking one!?" Yuma exclaimed.

Durbe then held his hand before Yuma, preventing him from stepping forward. "Calm yourself, Yuma," he said. "He is merely goading you."

"Yuma?" Xadros repeated curiously. "You mean, Yuma Tsukumo?"

All eyes were on the silver-haired man.

"Yeah, that's me," Yuma said. "What about it?"

"How amusing," Xadros said, lowering his head in an attempt to suppress his rising chuckles. "I had thought that the one who defeated Don Thousand was a little taller and less childlike."

"WHAT!?" Yuma growled.

"Alright, that's it," Ryoga snapped. "Who the heck are you?"

"Who am I?" Xadros asked. He cast his gaze to the Emperors. "The beginning of your worst nightmares, Barian Emperors."

"He knows!" Durbe mentally exclaimed.

"How would he know about that?" Rio thought worriedly.

Astral then narrowed his eyes. He could feel power simply oozing out of the man before him. "Yuma," he exclaimed. "This man is a Barian!"

"He is!?" they all exclaimed.

"Are you the Barian that attacked my brother!?" Durbe asked, turning his eyes on Xadros. "Are you the one that stole Mach from the Ruins?"

"Brother?" Xadros asked. He tilted his head this way and that, then suddenly jerked it upward. "Oh! You mean that pathetic little Barian Guardian!"

Durbe tensed up.

"I'm warm, aren't I?"

That nearly prompted Durbe to bite his lip.

"Hate to say, but no, I wasn't," Xadros continued. "That was Xetarlos."

"Who the heck is Xetarlos?" Ryoga asked.

"I'd love to answer you," Xadros said, "but, unfortunately, Xetarlos said he'd rather you found out later." He then raised a monster card into the air. "So, please, excuse me."

The card then began to glow brightly.

A grin crossed Xadros' face.

"Arewarero, Number 205!"

Nobody could hold back their gasps.

Before them all stood a large, muscular dragon. He possessed scales as hard as rocks, his claws resembling 20 deadly daggers. His tail beat the ground, fully prepared to cause an earthquake at a moment's notice. Burned into its upper left chest was a red number.

205

Then it's eyes.

They were dark, evil, yet stars were swimming within.

Like the galaxy.

"Meteorite Dragon of the Galaxy!"

* * *

"Wh-What is that!?" Yuma exclaimed, covering his face with his arms.

The monster's wingbeats were like tornadoes.

"Whatever it is, we must be cautious!" Astral said. "It is a very powerful dragon!"

"Another Galaxy-Eyes!?" Ryoga growled.

"No!" Rio said. "It's power; it feels different!"

"Don't compare my Meteorite Dragon to those feeble beasts," Xadros said. "He's far more powerful than them on any playing field."

"Number 205," Durbe breathed.

"_N-Number...two...two hu-_"

The words of Sirius instantly flashed through Durbe's mind.

"So that is what he was trying to warn us about," he thought.

And he was right.

Xadros' grin only increased as he held his hand forward. "I would love nothing more than to allow Meteorite Dragon to attack you all," he said. "But Xetarlos told me to leave you all be for right now. So I'll keep his leash on for today. Only for today." He then revealed Number 64. "I've got what I came for anyway."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ryoga snapped. "Return that Number now!"

"Gilag!" Durbe thought worriedly. "Did he...like Sirius?"

No further thoughts were given before Ryoga darted forward, his arm held out so he could grab hold of the Number.

"Ryoga! No!" Rio shouted.

Naturally, Ryoga wouldn't listen to a word his sister said.

And he paid the price for it.

"Meteorite," Xadros called, a portal opening up behind him.

With a fierce growl, the dragon reared his head back, then threw it forward again, a blast of power pouring from in between his teeth. Instantly, Ryoga was thrown off his feet. "Ryoga!" Durbe exclaimed, racing forward and catching his friend before he hit the ground.

"Ryoga!" Rio screamed. "Durbe!"

"Shark!" Yuma shouted.

Then Xadros let out a dark chuckle as he vanished, his dragon in tow.

And a single word escaped him.

"Weaklings."

* * *

"Hey, Shark!" Yuma exclaimed, shaking his friend violently. "Wake up! Come on, Shark! Wake up!"

Ryoga then forced himself to sit up. "I'm not unconscious, Yuma," he grouched.

"You seem unharmed," Astral said. "Are you injured?"

"No," Ryoga huffed. "He simply blew me away."

Durbe then looked over to where Xadros once stood, as well as the dragon. "That monster," he thought. "200..."

"Blast! We're too late!"

Everybody froze solid. Then they turned around.

There at the top of the steps was a tall man with straight, silver hair and a young girl with shoulder-length red hair.

Antares and Lyra.

Sirius' friends in the Barian Guardians.

"Lyra-chan," Rio breathed.

"Antares-kun," Durbe said. "What are the two of you doing here?"

Antares, ignoring Durbe's question, gritted his teeth in frustration. "So someone got here before us," he said.

"Huh?" went Yuma.

"We felt a rise in the Chaos power here," Lyra reported. "So we rushed right over here."

"We'll worry about other trivial things later," Antares said with a huff. "Is anybody injured?"

Nobody answered.

"Lyra," Antares said, "go check in the Dueling Sanctuary."

"Okay," Lyra said, curtsying slightly and making her way into the Sanctuary.

"While she's doing that," Antares continued, looking over to the team, "where's Sirius?"

"Right here."

Durbe instantly jerked his head to the teleportation system under the ship. Sirius was standing there – well, **barely** standing there. His knees were buckling beneath his weight, his left hand grasping at his right arm. "Sirius," Durbe breathed. "Why are you out of the medical room?"

"That wasn't a medical room," Sirius said, wincing at the pain that was surging through his arm. "That was...a...torture chamber."

Then he fell forward, with only Antares' arm keeping him from hitting the ground.

* * *

(A half hour of tending to injuries later.)

Lyra was being as careful as possible as she bandaged Gilag's head. The brute of Barian let out a groan once in a while, but other than that, was fairly silent. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered. "Ponta was taken too, wasn't he?"

"That's right," Gilag groaned. "But...I'll be sure to get him back." He then pounded the floor with his fist, cracking the planks below him. "I'll get him back and make that guy pay!"

"First, indoor voice, please," Antares said. "Sirius over here is hurting, thanks."

"Oh, right," Gilag said, his voice as close to a 'whisper' as his gruffness allowed.

"Antares-kun," Lyra began, "how is Sirius-san."

"Well, he's Sirius," Antares said. "But he's been hurt six ways from Sunday."

Sirius, blinking the exhaustion out of his eyes, let out a sigh. "It's no big deal," he said. "I can handle it."

"Oh, really?" Antares drawled, a sly look crossing his face. "In that case," he then gave the bandages on Sirius' arm a firm tug.

That forced a loud groan out of Sirius. "Hey!"

"Sirius," Durbe sighed, all the while wrapping Kaze's left arm in a bandage. "You are tired. You are weak. You can't even lift your hand."

"Yes, I can!" Sirius said. He then attempted it, only to fail miserably.

"We rest our case," Antares chuckled. "The only thing you've got going for you right now is your tongue."

Sirius merely let out a weak growl. It was all he could do to keep his pride.

"Why don't you get some rest for right now, Sirius?" Durbe suggested, tying the bandages as carefully as he could. "That's the best medicine you can have right now."

Sirius' eyelids fell. It was true. He was still too weak to do much of anything, his power was failing, and all his joints ached. Finally giving in, he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

After a minute or two, Durbe placed his hand on Sirius' head to make sure that his brother was actually sleeping.

He was.

He was also cold; shivering.

"Do you have any blankets that we might be able to borrow?" Durbe asked Kaze. "Sirius shall require one until we can get him to the Heartland Tower."

Kaze nodded. "I'll go get one," he said.

Then he left the room.

"Thank you," Durbe whispered.

By that time, Yuma was done with his – amazingly – decent bandaging job on Roku. "There you go, Gramps," he said. "Feeling any better?"

"Yes," Roku said. "For now. Thank you, Yuma."

Yuma beamed.

"So why did he destroy all the statues?" Ryoga asked, turning himself to look at the broken statues that littered the grounds.

Roku shook his head. "He didn't explain himself," he said. "He simply did it."

"All except the Over-Hundred Number statues," Gilag said, looking at his creations.

"Why didn't he touch those?" Rio asked curiously.

"Because they looked cool?" Yuma suggested.

"If that were the case, Yuma, then none of the statues would have been damaged," Astral said.

Durbe remained silent for a moment, then looked at his hand.

"Glorious Halo," he thought somberly.

Glorious Halo.

Weaklings.

What message was Xadros trying to relay them, they wondered.

And, what's more, why were they attacking the Legendary Number ruins like that?

Too many questions.

Not enough answers.

Not yet, anyway.

* * *

PUUU! I hope everybody's feeling ready for some mountain climbing. Next episode, we're going to go warn Misa-chan about all the baddies that are attacking. But what's gonna happen when we get there? You'll have to find out when Zexal III returns in Chapter 4: The Ruins of Number 46! Dragons, Dragon Tamers, and Fallen Hearts!

Better be ready for your hearts to start pounding! It's gonna be epic!

* * *

**D.T.B: Sooooooooo...Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**D.T.B: Guess who's back~?**

**Sirius: Convention is over, so she's trying to get back into the game.**

**D.T.B: That's right. So do the disclaimer, now. [readies Hyourinmaru.]**

**Sirius: I think I'd rather work with Shadow, but Barian-san doesn't own Zexal. If she did, this entire series would be going nuts.**

**D.T.B: Thank you. Now, START THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

Chapter 5

The Ruins of Number 46! Dragons, Dragon Tamers, and Fallen Hearts!

* * *

Night had fallen. Most of the people in the Dueling Sanctuary were sleeping as 'soundly' as they possibly could

Sirius was shivering under the blanket that his brother wrapped around his body. Sweat was pouring down his body, his eyes just barely staying open as he fought against sleep. "How pathetic," he thought to himself, slowly lifting his aching arm so he could look at his slightly calloused hand. "I can't believe I let myself lose so easily." He clenched his fist furiously. "And to that Barian of all people!"

* * *

_"__GAH!"_

_Sirius fell to the ground, his entire body going numb from the attack. All his air was forced out of his lungs as his spell card fell to the ground. "Ba-Bakana," he growled, attempting to force himself up from the ground. "Th-That monster... Where did...you get that?"_

_A 'grin' formed on Xetarlos' face as he walked forward and stepped on Sirius' hand._

_"__GAH!" Sirius exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut to suppress his scream._

_"__And you're supposed to be ranked third in the Barian Guardians," Xetarlos said mockingly. "You're pathetic. Even more so than your brother."_

_"__D-Don't...," Sirius growled, "speak...of my brother like that."_

_Xetarlos chuckled. "Now, if you don't mind," he said, "I'll be taking this Number with me."_

_With that, he turned away and opened the overlay network. However, before he was able to step inside, Sirius grabbed hold of Xetarlos' leg. _

_Curious, the Barian turned back to the Guardian below him. _

_Sirius' eyes were flashing with rage. "You're not...taking...that Number," he said. "Leave...Mach...here."_

_"__You just don't give up, do you, kid?" Xetarlos asked. "How about you come back when you can actually put up a fight!?" _

_Quickly, he kicked Sirius' hand away, then vanished into the network._

_Leaving Sirius injured on the cold ground. "X-Xetarlos," he snarled, his eyelids falling heavily. "Durbe-nii..."_

* * *

His fist only tightened as the memory flooded back into his mind. "I was so pathetic, just like he said," he thought to himself. "I couldn't even protect myself, much less my friend." He closed his eyes, still fighting off the sleepiness he was suffering from. "Durbe...Mach...gomen'nasai."

Suddenly, his eyes opened up and he forced himself to stand, his hands against the wall. "Hang on," he thought worriedly. "If he stole Mach...and that other guy stole Ponta...then that means..."

At that point, Lyra woke up, followed by her opening her eyes and allowing her to witness Sirius' actions. "Sirius-san?" she asked, startling the young man slightly. "What are you doing up?"

"Tell me," Sirius said through gritted teeth. "Has Espilon started her monitor duty at Misael's Ruins?"

"Yes," Lyra reported. "She actually finished her duty a few hours ago."

"So that leaves the Ruins alone until the next Guardian reports for duty," Sirius connected. "I **thought **so!"

"Mirius?" Antares asked sleepily, forcing himself to sit up, all the while rubbing his eyes. "Wah are you doing?" Then he noticed that Sirius was back on his feet. "Whoa, there, Superstar!" Antares snapped, fully awake. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"Thanks, Antares," Sirius growled, his hand against his chest. "Hey, why don't you wake everybody else up. I'd love to listen to their lectures."

He should have been careful with what he wished for.

Everybody else was up five seconds later, all thanks to Antares' outburst.

"Sirius," Durbe breathed, rubbing his eyes before placing his glasses on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Should you not be sleeping like a baby right now?" Astral asked, appearing from the Emperor's Key.

"Yeah," Yuma agreed. "You should be napping right now."

"Stop treating me like a child!" Sirius snapped. "I can take care of myself just fine! And I don't sleep like a baby!"

"So what are you doing, child?" Roku asked, making his way over to Sirius. "Your friends are merely worried about you. You don't to snap at them."

"Don't tell me what to do, Gramps," Sirius sighed. "I realized something important."

"And what might that be?" Astral asked.

Sirius showed his teeth, like a wolf.

"Misael and Jinlong are in trouble. They're going to be targeted next."

* * *

"Are you sure about they're going to be targeted next?" Ryoga asked Sirius on the bridge of the Different Dimension Airship. "Why would they even go after them next? Misael's one of the best duelists in the Emperors and Jinlong's no pushover."

Sirius nodded. "That's true," he said, "but you've forgotten something important." He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his arm. ←[He's leaning against the wall of the ship, with his arms folded across his chest.] "Misael has lost his Chaos Power. He's not the Barian Emperor you knew before. Going up against the Barians that are attacking now would be about the worst idea for his health."

"And let me guess," Ryoga said. "You're basing this on the fact that you lost against the first Barian that showed up in the three months since the Don Thousand incident."

Sirius instantly flinched, his eyes narrowing like an animal.

"Ryoga!" Rio growled. "Cut it out."

"Come on, guys," Yuma sighed. "Stop arguing, okay? I don't want to crash."

"Nor do I," Sirius said, lowering his head in defeat. "I'd like to finish recovery before Aquarii-san sends me to my grave."

"Who is this Aquarii-san?" Astral asked.

"You might know eventually," Sirius said, tilting his head to the side.

"Sirius-san," Lyra said softly, "shouldn't you lie down? The medical bay isn't too far and you need your rest."

"I can rest just fine standing up," Sirius said.

Durbe secretly looked towards his brother. Then his eyes softened. He wished to believe what his brother had said, but he was finding it difficult to do even that.

After all...Sirius was always physically weaker than Durbe and even Durbe would have demanded rest in a bed.

"Sirius," Durbe thought.

At that point, Sirius cast his brother a sidelong glance.

The two brothers stared for a moment or two before the ship suddenly jolted forward, sending all those in the ship to the ground.

Then the lights went out in an instant.

"Ugh," Rio moaned. "Yuma...what did you do this time?"

"I don't know," Yuma admitted. "I didn't hit the emergency break this time! Honest!"

"I totally think I broke my wrist," Antares groaned. "Can we make a pit stop at the nearest hospital or something?"

"No!" Ryoga growled. "Where the heck is the light switch?"

"No need," Astral said. "The power shall return momentarily."

"Thank goodness for that!" Sirius growled.

"Um...Sirius-san," Lyra said simply.

"What is it?"

Instantly, the lights went on again, allowing his question to be answered.

When Sirius fell forward, he landed on top of Lyra, who was looking up at him with a tomato red face.

It didn't even take three seconds for Sirius to share that frightened expression. "Uh," he breathed, slightly worriedly (If not embarrassingly). Then he jumped off of her to the best of his ability. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Lyra said. "I shouldn't have stepped in front of you. I'm too small to keep you up when you're falling down."

"That's not actually the case," Sirius denied. "It was just too fast. You didn't have time to..." His defense of her ability as well as her own puppy expression was only making his face redder.

So after less than three seconds had passed, he stood up and assisted her to her feet, his face still unbelievably red.

"Aww," went Antares. "Puppy Love."

"Clam it, Antares!" Sirius growled.

"Yuma, what is 'Puppy Love?'" Astral asked.

Yuma simply shrugged.

"It's when an teenager starts to get a crush on someone," Rio explained.

"I see," Astral breathed. "Barian Observation Number 1. It would appear that Sirius suffers from something known as 'Puppy Love.'"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," Antares chuckled.

"Don't encourage him!" Sirius roared, his shoulders tensing up. "And since when did Astral start listing observations on Barians?!"

Durbe could only chuckle at his brother's antics. "You haven't changed," he thought humorously. "Still as defiant as ever."

"Well," Yuma said suddenly, "let's go see what's outside. We can't do anything now that the ship isn't moving."

With that, he stepped onto the teleporter and vanished.

The rest followed shortly after, with Sirius giving a simple sigh.

"Whoa!" Yuma exclaimed when they appeared on ground level. "Look at this, guys."

Everybody else let out a gasp.

Their ship had landed on a mountain cliff, allowing them to look down at a small village. It had been concealed in a thin veil of fog, but it was beautiful nonetheless. If anything, the fog brought out its beauty all the more.

"Sugoi," Lyra breathed, clapping her hands together in happiness.

"Wow," Antares exclaimed. "Kinda reminds me of where you used to live, Sirius."

Sirius glared at him in response.

A glare that froze Antares and buried him six feet under. (Okay, maybe twenty.)

"Okay," Antares mentally drawled. "Keep that subject to a total minimum."

"Do you think Misael's down there?" Yuma asked.

"Why would he go down there?" Ryoga asked, his tone as gruff as usual. "Come on. He hates being around people."

"Unfortunately, I agree with him," Sirius sighed, dropping his head in defeat. "Misael's not the type of person who'd live amongst people. Heck, that's one of the reasons he loved dragons."

"Uh huh," went Lyra, sweat dropping slightly.

"Well," went Rio, making her way down the cliff, "let's get going then."

"Where are you going?" Ryoga asked sternly.

"If Misael's down there," Rio said, "then we're wasting our time just standing here."

"She has a point," Astral said.

"Indeed," Durbe said, looking down the cliff. (Like, literally, **down.**) "Sirius, come take a look at this. It gives you that feeling of riding on Mach's back."

"No, thank you," Sirius said. "Now, please get away from the cliff. I feel like you're about to fall over the side."

"You needn't worry," Durbe responded. "I've had practice."

"Well, I haven't," Sirius grouched. "So please, back away from there."

The conversation went on for another three minutes before Yuma eventually managed to get Sirius to calm down.

* * *

"Thank you," a man said stiffly, taking his groceries away from the vendor and turning his back so he could walk away. His blond hair was brushed away from his face as he made his way outside of the village, a scowl still firm on his face.

"Now to get back to the Ruins before Jinlong eats the garden."

"Misael!"

The blond-haired man suddenly froze in his tracks. Then his shoulders sagged. "That voice again," he thought irritatedly. "How did he know where to find me?"

"Misael! Turn around already! Hurry!"

Misael then raised an eyebrow before turning his body so he could see that which he was being warned about.

He regretted it two seconds later.

Yuma...tripping up on his feet...incapable of stopping as he made his way downhill. "Look out!" Yuma exclaimed. "Gangway!"

Quickly, Misael twisted his body to the side, allowing Yuma to fall flat on his face. "You again?" he asked, his scowl only increasing. "What are you doing here, Yuma?"

Everybody else followed shortly after. (Well, almost all of them.) "We told you to slow down," Ryoga huffed.

"Ryoga is correct," Durbe said, doubling over as he caught his breath. "We could have told you that you were going to trip up like that."

"Mo! Yuma!" Rio growled. "You made us run too fast."

"Actually, that was rather refreshing," Antares chuckled. "I usually don't run that fast."

"I am curious," Astral said, floating down to their side. "Where is Sirius and Lyra? They should have been right behind us."

"You mean that white-haired kid in the way back?" Misael asked, scoffing slightly.

They all turned around.

Sure enough, Sirius and Lyra were in the way back. Sirius was doubling over, his breath coming out short and raspy. Lyra was assisting him in keeping his balance, a worried expression gracing her face all the while. "Deep breaths, Sirius-san," she said soothingly.

"What's with the kid back there?" Misael called out.

"He appears to be out of breath," Astral observed.

"You feeling okay, Sirius?" Yuma asked.

Sirius could only feebly raise his hand in response. Then he went right back to what appeared to be heaving.

"Okay, is this kid gonna be alright?" Ryoga asked. "He looks like he's about to collapse."

Sirius attempted to give a response, but the most he was able to give was some breathless speech.

"Can someone translate for this guy?" Ryoga sighed.

"He said to give him a minute," Antares said simply. "You might not have known, but Sirius has a bad case of asthma."

"Barians can get sick?" Yuma asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Apparently," Antares responded, drawling out the first syllable.

"Don't...rub...it...in," Sirius huffed, a little louder than he did previously.

"So you are sickly?" Astral asked. "Interesting."

"I'M NOT SICKLY!" Sirius shouted. "I just ran out of breath is all!"

"What are you all doing here?" Misael asked, throwing his head down in defeat.

* * *

"So you think they're coming after Jinlong next?" Misael asked after the story was told.

"Indeed," Durbe said. "And not without reason."

"Number 46 is currently the only Legendary Number that's not being guarded," Sirius confirmed. ←[Yay. He's talking.] "That would make it the easiest to steal."

"Not while I'm around," Misael said firmly. "I'm a Dragon Tamer."

"Remind me again why that even matters?" Sirius asked mockingly.

"Why you-"

"Okay, okay!" Yuma said suddenly, jumping in between the two. "Calm down. So, Misael. Think we can go up to the mountain top and see how Jinlong's doing? I'm eager for another duel."

"That doesn't surprise me," Ryoga chuckled.

"You're a regular 'duelaholic,' huh, Yuma?" Rio teased.

Yuma simply chuckled and turned away.

"Maybe we should tell him that she wasn't paying him a compliment," Sirius thought.

Misael simply let out a sigh. "I don't see why you can't duel Jinlong," he admitted. "But unless you wish to walk up the steps, you're going to have to wait."

"Why's that?" Yuma asked.

Misael looked up. (They were walking the entire time the explanation was being held offscreen.)

Everybody else followed shortly after.

The mountain. For some reason, it seemed taller than it was the first time they saw it.

"Do you climb this every day?" Antares asked, pointing towards the rock before them.

"No," Misael said simply. Then he placed his fingers against his mouth and whistled. After a minute, he pulled his hand back and said, "Jinlong flies down and picks me up when I call him."

"And when will that be?" Astral asked, looking up to the top of the mountain.

"When he's ready," Misael responded, refusing to look at Astral. ←[Former Barian.]

"No thanks," Sirius said, making his way to the cliff. "Outta the way, Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel!?" Misael growled.

"I'm an impatient Barian," Sirius said, reaching out to grab some of the rocks. "Ask anybody."

"It's true," Antares said. "There's no stopping him when he sets his mind to things."

"Sirius, you should probably stay down here and wait for Jinlong," Durbe said worriedly. "You're still healing."

"I'm fine," Sirius denied. "If you want to stay down here, be my guest."

"Sirius," Durbe breathed.

"In that case," Yuma said, racing forward, "I'll come up too. Kattobingu da, ORE!"

"I should have known he'd say that," Sirius thought, sweat dropping.

"I'm coming too," Antares said with a grin. "I haven't climbed a mountain since my past life."

Yuma gave a bright nod. "You coming, Shark?" Yuma asked. "It'll be just like old times."

Ryoga chuckled before following after.

"Well, me and Lyra are staying down here," Rio said. "Like I said before, mountain climbing isn't for girls." She then gave Durbe a pat on the back. "You get going though."

"Huh?" went Durbe.

Rio then bent forward, appearing to her brother that she was about to give Durbe a kiss on the cheek. But instead, she said, "Sirius might need your help more than we need your protection. So you get going and help him climb, okay?"

After a brief pause, Durbe nodded and made his way to the cliff.

Then Misael sighed. "Alright, I'm coming," he said, setting his groceries down. "If Jinlong comes before we make it to the top, bring these up with you."

"Will do, Misael," Rio said. "So, bye, boys."

With that, the boys started up the cliffside.

* * *

"This is fun," Yuma said. "Just like the last time we had to go get Jinlong, huh?"

"You climbed the previous time you came here?" Durbe asked.

"Yep," Yuma answered with a grin. "Really fun, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it 'fun,' but it's okay."

That was Sirius.

And when they looked down, they found that he was slowing down a little bit. His face was covered in a light veil of sweat, forcing his hair to stick to his skin, and his breath was coming out in short puffs.

"You okay down there, Sirius?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm fine," Sirius responded.

"You do not seem fine," Astral said, floating down to his side. "Your body temperature appears to be approximately two degrees higher than normal."

"I would appreciate it if you get away from me, Astralian," Sirius growled. "I'm busy."

"Maybe you should just crawl back down, Sirius," Antares suggested. "I don't think you'll make it to the top."

"No way on Barian World," Sirius said, pulling himself upward a little bit.

"Why not?" Ryoga asked. "Because of your stupid pride?"

"Yeah, like you're one to talk," Sirius said. Then he turned away, mentally adding, "To heck with my pride. If Lyra sees me go back down..." ←[Yeah, that's your pride talking, Sirius.]

"Sirius," Durbe breathed, looking down towards his brother worriedly.

Gritting his teeth, Sirius reached forward to pull himself higher.

If only it wasn't the hand that Xetarlos had stepped on.

A jab of pain suddenly pierced through his palm, forcing him to bite his lip to keep from screaming. Then his grip on the cliffside slackened.

Then everything went in slow motion.

Sirius' fingers slipped from the cliffside, allowing gravity to take hold of his body and pull him downwards.

"Oh, no!" Yuma exclaimed.

"Sirius!" Antares shouted.

The Barian Guardian's eyes widened with horror as he fell, his outstretched hand being the only thing that he could offer in his situation.

Then Durbe saved him by grabbing hold of his hand and keeping his grip locked.

His ears proceeded to ring as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Durbe," Sirius breathed.

Durbe's expression remained emotionless as he helped Sirius grab hold of the cliffside again. "Be careful," he said. "Your injuries are never an asset, especially in climbing."

Sirius briefly paused. Then he looked down to his injured hand. "Yeah," he breathed. "I know."

Silence enveloped them all.

Then the roar of a dragon pierced the sky.

Their hearts leapt out of their mouths as they looked up.

"Uh! What was that!?" Yuma asked.

"It sounded like a dragon," Astral said.

Misael looked on in fright. "That was Jinlong."

* * *

(Later, at the top of the mountain.)

Misael raced towards the temple as quickly as he could. "Jinlong!" he exclaimed. "Jinlong!"

Once he entered the temple grounds, he froze.

Before him laid his precious dragon, fallen and injured.

Just like it was in the past...

"JINLONG!" Misael shouted, racing forward to his friend. "What happened?!"

"Oh, nothing much, Misael-kun."

Misael froze, as did his friends.

"I just wanted to take Number 46, but he said no. So I had to...force my way in."

With those words, a man revealed himself from behind the dragon's limp body.

Xadros.

"Who...are you?" Misael growled. "Answer me now."

"Who am I?" Xadros asked. "Call me Xadros. And you needn't worry about setting the table for me." He raised his hand. Then Jinlong began to glow, transforming into his Number card form. "I'll just take this and be on my way."

"I don't think so!" Misael growled. "You're not taking that Number from these Ruins! Not while I have something to say about it!"

"Misael! Calm yourself!" Durbe shouted. "He will only use your anger to his advantage."

Unfortunately, his warning came too late.

"So you won't let leave with this card?" Xadros asked.

"That's right," Misael responded.

"Fine," Xadros said. "In that case," he raised his left arm into the air, allowing his Duel Disk to take form; a black dragon head with red lines; "I'll duel you for it."

"What!?" Misael growled.

"Don't do it, Misael!" Sirius shouted. "You're not ready for it yet!"

"Keep out of this!"

Sirius caught himself backing away slightly.

"Fine then," Misael snarled, his duel disk appearing on his arm. "I'll duel you. And I will win."

Xadros chuckled. "The spirit of a Dragon Tamer," he observed. "I like that in my prey. I'll enjoy ripping your dragon from you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"I shall."

Quickly, they both drew their cards.

"**Let's Duel!**"

* * *

Okay... Not as epic as I thought it might be. Puuuu...

Sirius: PREVIEW!

Okay! Misa-chan's going to duel now! And it's Dragon against Dragon! But when he's pushed into a corner, what's gonna happen next? Siri-chan keeps telling him something, but he's not going to listen. What's gonna happen in this duel? You'll have to find out in Zexal III: Don't Summon Him, Misael!

Misael: Arewarero, Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!

Sirius: Misael!

* * *

**D.T.B: Get...back...into...the...stupid...GAME! UGH! Stupid update times! I'm all over the place right now! h.h**

**Sirius: Translation, don't follow her former update times until she gets back into the swing of things.**


	6. Chapter 6

**D.T.B: You're turn for an update. Let's get to work.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Don't Summon Him, Misael!

* * *

Lyra looked up to the mountainside where the boys had climbed out of sight. "Sirius-san," she squeaked out.

"Don't worry, Lyra-chan," Rio said with a smile. "I'm sure your little boyfriend is doing alright."

"EH!?" Lyra exclaimed, her face exploding into a cherry red hue. "What are you talking about, Rio-san?"

"You mean he isn't your boyfriend?" Rio asked, tilting her head to the side. "Huh. I thought he was."

"W-Well, he's not," Lyra said. "He's my superior. Nothing more."

Rio could see the falsehood hidden beneath those words. Chuckling, she said, "Alright, I won't pressure you anymore. Here." She held out a lollipop. "Want one?"

"Ah. Sure," Lyra responded, taking the sweet with gratitude.

* * *

"You are going to fall in this duel, Misael," Xadros said. "I'll be sure of that."

"Underestimating me?" Misael asked. "That is the worst mistake of your life."

"We shall see, Misael," Xadros said. "We shall see." He placed his hand on his deck. "I'll go first! I draw!"

He then looked at his drawn card. "And I summon, _Dragon of Shadows: Black Zorg!_"

A large dragon then appeared on the field, throwing his hands to his sides as he let out a roar.

[Black Zorg. Lv. 4. 2000 ATK, 2000 DEF]

"Oh man!" Yuma exclaimed. "Look at those attack points!"

"We are well aware of the large amount of attack points, Yuma," Astral said simply, his eyes locked on the duel.

"Black Zorg's ability activates!" Xadros declared. "When I summon him to the field, I get to summon two more 'Dragon of Shadow' monsters, from my hand. So, you know what? I'll summon two more Black Zorgs!"

Misael's eyes narrowed as the second and third dragons appeared on the field.

Then Xadros raised his hand into the air. "Now, I overlay all three of my Black Zorgs!"

The monsters then became like darkened rays, falling into the overlay network.

"XYZ SHOUKAN!"

The overlay network exploded into thousands of ebony lights.

"Arewarero, Number 205!"

All eyes widened.

"Meteorite Dragon of the Galaxy!"

The Dragon Number appeared on the field, slashing his tail this way and that.

[Meteorite Dragon of the Galaxy. Rank 4. 2800 ATK, 2600 DEF]

Misael caught himself backing away. "N-Number two hundred?!" he exclaimed. "But they weren't supposed to go that high."

"They did," Xadros responded. "You simply turned a blind eye to it."

Misael let out a nasty growl.

"Seeing as how I can't attack on the first turn, I'll lay one card facedown and end my turn. So, make your move, Misael. That is, if you still have the pride to call yourself a Dragon Tamer."

Misael clenched his fist tightly as he reached for his deck.

"Be careful, Misael," Sirius thought. "Whatever you do, don't summon **him**."

"Misael," Durbe thought, clenching his fist at the thought of the duel turning on its head.

Ignorant to their thoughts and worries, Misael placed his hand on his deck. Then he proceeded to rip his card from his deck, shouting, "I draw!"

Then he looked at his card. "And I special summon Schwarzschild the Limit Dragon!"

A roar from a dragon attacked the air, and the great orange dragon appeared on the field, fully prepared to bite his tail.

[Schwarzschild. Lv. 8. 2000 ATK, 0 DEF]

"When my opponent controls a monster with more than 2000 attack points, I can summon Schwarzschild from my hand," Misael said, pulling another monster out of his hand. "And there's more. When I have a level 8 monster on my field," he threw his card onto his duel disk; "I can summon Parsec, the Interstellar Dragon from my hand without tribute! So, come on out, Parsec!"

The insect-like dragon appeared on the field, it's eyes locking onto its opponent.

[Parsec, the Interstellar Dragon. Lv. 8. 800 ATK, 800 DEF]

Misael then thrust his hand forward. "Now, I overlay Parsec and Schwarzschild!"

The dragons both let out powerful roars as they became balls of light, jumping into the overlay network with their wings outspread.

That was when a tall staff appeared in Misael's hand, a staff he proceeded to throw into the overlay network.

"Arewarero! O, great dragon of the twilight! Let the moon's powers entrap you! **Moon Dragon – Tsuki!**"

Just as before, the silver dragon appeared on the field. However, unlike the previous time he was summoned by the Dragon Tamer, Tsuki chose to let out a harsh growl as it's eyes burned into those of it's opponent's.

[Moon Dragon – Tsuki. Rank 8. 2600 ATK, 1500 DEF]

"Moon Dragon – Tsuki, huh?" Xadros asked. "What happened to your true ace, Misael?" He narrowed his eyes as a grin crossed his face. "Where's Tachyon Dragon?"

Misael refused to give an answer to that question. Instead, he snarled and said, "Now I activate Tsuki's special ability! By detaching one overlay unit, your monster loses all it's special abilities, including it's ability to only be destroyed by other Numbers."

"And that's supposed to frighten me?" Xadros asked, looking up at his monster, who's scales were beginning to grow slightly dim. "Your little Tsuki's attack points are 200 points lower than my Meteorite Dragon's."

"For now," Misael said. "But now, I activate this! The spell card, **Dragon Power**! With it, my monster's attack goes up by 1000 points for this turn!"

"Alright!" Yuma shouted. "Kattobingu, Misael!"

"Yuma, now's not the time," Sirius thought. "We can't afford to distract him here." (For those of you who might think this, NO. I am NOT bashing Yuma's Kattobingu. Please understand that I am slightly paranoid about that.)

[Moon Dragon – Tsuki – 2600 → 3600 ATK]

"Now, go, Moon Dragon – Tsuki! Attack Meteorite! Moon Ray Blast!"

"Interesting," Xadros said. "Very, very interesting, Misael."

Misael remained silent.

"That's it, Misael!" Yuma shouted. "If this gets through, you'll not only have beaten his ace, but you'll have dealt a whopping amount of damage to this guy."

"He would," Xadros admitted. "That is, **if** he had the chance to pull his move off."

"What?" Misael growled.

Xadros chuckled. "Trap, hatsudo! _Dragon's Determination!_"

"Uh, what?" Yuma asked, slightly stunned.

"WHAT!?" Misael shouted.

"This card doubles my monster's attack points until the end of my turn," Xadros explained.

[Meteorite Dragon of the Galaxy. 2800 → 5600 ATK]

"Tsuki!" Misael shouted.

"Misael!" everybody else let out.

Meteorite Dragon then wrapped its claws around Tsuki's neck, destroying the monster without the slightest hint of remorse.

Then Misael was thrown back, his life points being cut in half from the assault.

[Misael – 4000 LP → 2000 LP]

"Misael!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Misael, are you alright?!" Durbe asked worriedly.

The Dragon Tamer in question forced himself to his feet. "I'm fine," he forced out.

"Fine?" Xadros repeated. "More like the exact opposite."

Misael, fortunately, did not hear that last part. "Kaado ichi mai sette," he said, throwing a card facedown. "Turn end."

"It's about time," Xadros said. "My move. I draw!"

He ripped his card out from his deck before pointing towards Misael. "My monster's attack points are still at 5600. So I'll just have him attack you directly and end this duel!"

"Uh oh," Yuma squeaked.

"If that attack connects, Misael is out," Ryoga said.

"But if it doesn't connect, he just might get desperate enough to use it," Sirius thought, biting his lip and clenching his fist.

"Trap, hatsudo!" Misael shouted. "**Dragon Wing Defense!** By removing one dragon-type monster from my graveyard, my life points are spared for the rest of this turn!"

Then he was thrown into the air, a gasp escaping him as he hit the ground.

"That's only delaying the inevitable, Misael!" Xadros said. "You've bought yourself an extra turn!"

"An extra turn he's going to need," Durbe thought.

"Misael-san," Antares thought solemnly.

Misael struggled in bringing himself back onto his knees. "Th-That Number," he mentally choked. "I can't fight it without a Number of my own."

"You know, this is disappointing," Xadros said.

All eyes were on their enemy.

"When I challenged you, I was hoping for a match worthy of Dragon Users. But in the end, you're nothing more than a pathetic has-been."

"A-"

"A has-been?" Durbe asked.

"Even I think that's a little harsh," Sirius said under his breath.

"Misael's no has-been!" Yuma shouted. "He's a great duelist!"

"A great duelist?" Xadros laughed. "Then let him prove it." He pointed to Misael. "If you dare call yourself a Dragon User, then fight with your ace. That is, if you have the guts."

Misael gritted his teeth to curb his growing rage.

"Uh oh," Sirius thought, his eyes widening slightly. "I know that look."

The Dragon Tamer forced himself to his feet, his entire face glowing with rage. "You want my ace?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Sirius' eyes widened.

"So you'll have it." Misael then grabbed hold of his deck and placed his fingers on his top card.

"Don't even think about it," Sirius whispered.

"Hmm? Sirius?" Durbe questioned curiously.

"Watashi no turn," Misael growled.

Astral raised his head.

"DRAW! And I play the spell card, Monster Reborn! So return, Schwarzschild the Limit Dragon!"

The orange dragon then appeared from the graveyard.

"Next, I summon another Schwarzschild the Limit Dragon, as you still have a monster with more than 2000 attack points!"

The second dragon appeared on the field, floating right beside his kin.

"I fear that Misael is making a mistake," Astral said.

"Huh?" went Yuma.

Misael then raised his hand into the air. "I overlay both Schwarzschild the Limit Dragons!"

The dragons then leapt into the overlay network a second time.

"Misael! Don't!" Sirius shouted.

"That's a bad idea, Misael-san!" Antares said.

"They are correct," Astral said. "Misael, you must stop now!"

Naturally, Misael didn't listen to them. His summon continued.

"Roar throughout the entire universe. Revive from the source of all galaxies, that flows from far back in time! Manifest yourself, and lead me to victory! Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes TACHYON DRAGON!"

The great dragon then appeared on the field, a roar escaping his lungs as his gaze burned into the eyes of his opponent.

[Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon. Rank 8. 3000 ATK, 2500 DEF]

"So that's him," Xadros thought with a grin. "Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon."

Misael revealed a light smirk.

Then everything froze.

Misael could feel his insides burning and twisting, his stomach tightening all of a sudden. His entire body felt twice as heavy, forcing him to double over, his breath coming out short and caught.

"Misael?!" Durbe called out.

"What's the matter?" Ryoga asked. "You okay?"

"He looks sick all of a sudden," Yuma reported.

"It's the Number!" Sirius said. "Misael! Let go of the Number!"

Xadros raised an eyebrow as Misael forced himself to swallow a scream.

Suddenly, Antares leapt forward, wrapping one arm around Misael's shoulders, all the while ripping Tachyon Dragon off of his duel disk. "Duel END!"

Instantly, there was a large explosion, blowing everybody away from the center of the dueling field.

* * *

"Ow," Yuma groaned, forcing himself to stand back up. "Is everybody okay?"

"I'm fine," Ryoga said, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"As am I," Durbe reported.

Then he looked down to his brother.

Sirius wasn't waking up.

"Sirius?" Durbe asked, slightly worriedly. "Sirius? Sirius!"

A furious coughing fit escaped the Barian Guardian, who's eyes opened and turned towards his brother. "The duel...?" he asked, barely forcing out his words.

Durbe shook his head. "It's over."

Then he helped pull Sirius back onto his feet before proceeding to swing the latter's arm over his shoulder to help steady him.

Then Astral floated towards the scene. "Dear me," he breathed.

"Antares," Sirius breathed. "You didn't have to do something that stupid."

Just then, a hand was raised and Antares stood up. "Okay, that was fun," he said. "If there's another Barian Emperor who's stupid enough to do that again, I shall gladly rip their cards from them."

"You're nuts," Sirius chuckled.

"I agree with the cotton head," Xadros said suddenly.

All eyes were on him. He was damaged slightly, but still standing on his feet. A growl was escaping through his teeth, his fist clenched in seething rage. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you have to get in the way?! If you just left Misael alone, the Number would have possessed him and I would have dueled agains the former Dragon Tamer of Barian World himself! But instead, you got it away from him before I had the chance! Now you'll pay!"

Antares narrowed his eyes and readied his deck.

Then a gust of wind blew past them, and a short person in a hood appeared in the center of the field.

"What the-?" Yuma exclaimed.

"Who's that?" Ryoga asked.

"I do not know," Astral said. "But he feels like a Barian."

Durbe narrowed his eyes. "Barian..."

The Barian in question then turned to Xadros. "Hey," he said. "Xetarlos is getting tired of waiting for you. You were supposed to have returned with the Number ages ago."

"Sorry, Shun'o," Xetarlos said with a chuckle. "I thought I was going up against Misael, but instead I got a has-been. I'm ready to go back now."

"H-Hold it," Sirius choked out.

Xadros turned towards the Barian Guardian.

"Why...? Why do you...want the Numbers?" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "What exactly...are you planning on doing?"

The hooded Barian let out a chuckle. "I think we'll let you figure it out on your own," he said. "You're smart." He then turned around and opened up a portal. "Shall we go, Xadros?"

"Yep, you got it," Xadros said, following close behind.

"Whoa! Hang on a minute!" Yuma shouted. "Get back here!"

He then raced forward, jumping at the last second to grab hold of Xadros' cape.

But instead, the Barian went in and the portal closed before he had the chance, leaving him to fall to the ground and scrape up his face. "Man!" he exclaimed. "Not cool!"

"It would appear that the enemy is far more powerful than we would have initially thought," Astral said, floating down to Yuma's side. "We must tread cautiously in the future.

Even Ryoga nodded at that.

* * *

PUUU! Well, that's just great! The duel ended in a draw and Xadros STILL got the Number! What a meanie! What's gonna happen next? You'll have to find out when Zexal III returns in the next chapter: Promise me!

Oops. Siri-chan's gonna get in big trouble when Lyra-chan sees him. He's a mess.

* * *

**D.T.B: Yay. Update complete. So. The new guy that just showed up? He's my character. He is the only bad guy on the team that I hold claim to. Just know that. Shun'o, mine. Everybody else, BarianHunterAlpha's. **

**Sirius: Now that that's out of the way...**

**Lyra: Leave a review please. :D**


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